The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-01-22
THE ROAD TO PROSPERITY.
BY G RALsToN AYERS.
philadelphia, Pa.)

The men who conduct the successful
affairs of the world in any calling are
successful because they give continu-
Gus attention to their work. They could
not succeed by giving little attention
at long intervals to their work. II a
man should give thought but once
year to any project he wanted to carry
out he would fail. If he did not think
about his enterprises oftener than once
a year he would lose interest in them,
and would be crowded aside by others
who think and work continuously.
Missionary work is to the church,
what push, energy and determination
are to the business man. If the Chris
tian religion is a missionary religion; if
through its missionary enterprises, and
through these enterprises alone, it is
destined to conquer the world, the en-
terprises of the church demand the
continuous interest of its followers.
Any plan for interesting the men,
bers of the Universalist church in mis-
sionary work, and which allows their
interest to remain dormant for whole
year, is radically defective. If people
generally are not interested in mis-
sionary work there must be some rea-
son for it. The small sums which are
usually contributed by churches at the
annual collections do not show great
interest.
No church can make progress with
out revenue sufficiently large to give
it's enterprises financial backing. No
denomination can get such a revenue
from voluntary contributors without
adopting method that will keep them
continuously interested in the general
work of the church.
For more than year, the Church of
the Messiah, Philadelphia, has given
away more than half of its Sunday col
lections for missionary purposes. Spec
ial.collections are taken in this church
once month /; and after years trial
these collections have shown no de-
crease, while the Sunday Collections
have been doubled in amount. Thus
the church has been enabled, by retain
ing half its Sunday collections, to re-
ceive just as large arevenue, and yet has
had several hundred dollars more than
usual to give to the Conventions for
missionary work. 1t has thus practi-
cally demonstrated what has been so
often advanced as probable, that when
the Sunday offerings are made interest
ing to the people they would give
larger sums than when they are all re-
tanned for home uses. The Church of
the Restoration, Philadelphia, will here
after give half of all its evening collec-
tion to the State and General Conven-
tions, and the Sunday-school of the
Church of the Messiah has for some
time past given away all of its Sunday
collections. Thus, the prophet of Sun
day collections finds honor in his own
city where he is personally known.
We believe in special collections and
believe in having one Sunday in each
year as a distinctive Missionary Sun
day, during which the annual offerings
should be made and an effort made to
secure large contributions. The con-
tinuous training the people would get
throughout the year would make them
feel more interest in the missionary
work, and contribute more literally at
the annual collections than if they gave
this subject attention but once year.